well you guys called it, my router died on Thursday, wifi couldn't connect, error loading the browser etc

I went and bought a new one Belkin N600 I'm still connecting at the same DB up and down is there a "reset" i can do on my end or does it take a while for the Cabnite I am connected to to try again and bump my speed?

Was there a change on 13 July. Our modem appeared to reset and when back up our DL speed had dropped from ~31Mbs to ~24Mbs and our ping (19) was the lowest I have ever seen. Now checking a week later it seems back to normal. Stats from today are similar to what they had been prior to the 13th.

Was there a change on 13 July. Our modem appeared to reset and when back up our DL speed had dropped from ~31Mbs to ~24Mbs and our ping (19) was the lowest I have ever seen. Now checking a week later it seems back to normal. Stats from today are similar to what they had been prior to the 13th.

Yes and no.

For the last few months chorus have been constantly rolling out new updates, for varies reasons.

in terms of roll-out times often there is no real pattern to it.

If you wanna watch out for your DSLAM, i'd watch vibes status for "planned outages" - http://status.as45177.net/ - i forget who the geekzoner is that runs most of this, but for me personally its always helpful to have a secondary automated source (who knows when a email notification gets delayed, caught in servers or simply missed)

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

The DLM changes over the past few weeks have resulted in the speed of one of my lines decreasing from 52 Mbps to below 40 Mbps, while another line increased from 47 Mbps to 61Mbps. What's up with this? It seems it's a continuation of VDSL2 issues I have had over the last 18 months - (long) explanation follows.

I have 2 naked VDSL connections which run from the same exchange to the same premises in a rural town. When working 'normally', they sync at similar speeds (to within about 10% of each other).

The lines have similar physical/electrical characteristics (in terms of attenuation and noise figures). Periodically, one or other of the lines has either been unstable or delivered speeds which are substantially slower than the other. When a tech checks the line from the exchange end, it is reported as being OK and the problem is usually attributed to increased noise or possible issues with a lateral line.

However, the line then returns to its expected capacity and stability for a few months (without any explanation from Chorus) before the problem starts again.

Given that no faults are found with the line, or cpe equipment, what other issues could cause such a problem? Are there any questions I could ask the ISP to put to Chorus?

A more detailed background is as follows:

I have had the same 2 naked lines for 6 years. Over that time, the service has evolved from 2 DSL lines giving about 4Mbps each, thru ADSL2, to VDSL2 (which now provides up to 61 Mbps on one of the lines).

The physical set-up is straightforward.From the Demarc, I have 2 shielded CAT6 cables which run for about 15m into 2 x CAT6 jacks, and from there over 2m of flat cable (RJ45 to RJ11) into the modems. The modems are a Draytek DV-130 for Line 1 and an older Draytek 2750 for Line 2.

The modems are in bridge mode, and they are connected with a metre of shielded cable to an RB1100 AHx2. The lines are configured for fail-over.

I did have filters on each of the lines, but in an effort to eliminate problem sources, I took them out (the lines are naked anyway and were installed specifically only to provide a broadband connection).

August 2016:Both lines were stable until Aug 2016, when Line 1 starting dropping periodically. At this time, the ISP reported it could not see Line 1 from its end, even though it was passing traffic. From my end, I could not trace-route across this line back to the ISP. Line 1 eventually dropped altogether, and only came back online after a Chorus tech had unplugged the port at the exchange to do some testing, found nothing wrong with the line, and plugged the line back into the port. In other words, Line 1 resumed working OK again after being plugged back in to the port with no other changes made.

Oct/Nov 2016After August, things worked well (and stable) for another 2 months, when the line 1 speed dropped from 52 Mbps to 15 Mbps.

ISP then reports the following:Line 1 sync dropped from 52 mpbs down to 15 mpbs.

But the status of the line showing stable , which is odd. ISP asks Chorus to look at this line.

Chorus claims there is nothing wrong with the existing line, they claim it might looks like it is coming from our end.

After further issues, more testing occurs. Chorus analyzer on 24hrs show no apparent problems. Assure suspect slowing down as more b/band customers connected to cable nvf... "

ISP replies to Chorus that this is not possible , because the Line 2 connection has a much higher download rate than the problematic line. ISP states it will ask Chorus to change the line or the port to restore the existing service back to correct speed.

I noted the following in an email to the ISP:Interestingly, when I was upgrading the firmware on the modem that supplies line 2, all the traffic ran across line 1 (the mal-functioning line). I noted the download speed of line 1 peaking above 30Mbps. This is somewhat higher then the 23 Mbps the stats tell me it can attain.

I'm wondering if there is a configuration issue somewhere at the exchange?

Chorus looks at the line again.

Analysis of Line 1 checks out OK physically and electrically (no problems found between exchange and our modem). Soon afterwards speed returns to 52Mbps rate 'spontaneously'. though tech thinks a change was made by Assure somewhere.

June 2017Both lines are stable over the period between Nov 2016 and May 2017. In June 2017 line 1 starts dropping a few times each day. I also note its peak speeds seem to fall off. This is opposite to what I would have expected given the DLM changes occurring at this time.

I look at the stats from the modem for line 1. It tells the line is syncing at about 33Mbps.I upgrade the firmware on the DV130 to the latest version. The speed stats after the firmware upgrade don't change much. They are as follows:

I log another fault with the ISP.Again, Chorus confirm no issues with the line between the exchange and the modem. Chorus tech states he adjusted the profile slightly in an effort to get more speed from the line.

ISP sends the following email:Chorus have marked the fault as 'Completed', however we have just updated it asking for more information as one of your connections has a sync rate of 61.1Mbps down and 8.9Mbps up, while the one they just changed the profile on is syncing at 46.3Mbps down and 12.9Mbps up.

Where to from here?Since Feb 2016, Line 1 sync has reduced from 52 Mbps to 46 Mbps, while line 2 has increased from 47 Mbps to 61 Mbps.Given the DLM changes and Line 2's current sync rate, I would expect Line 1 to sync at a higher rate (mid to high 60's). This is especially so since it has better electrical characteristics.

In the 24hr period after the latest changes, Line 1 dropped its link 8 times, Line 2 has not dropped its link for ages ...

So, given the above, what additional questions or areas of investigation should I try in order to get Line 1 back up to spec and stabilised?

Just as a matter of interest, have you ever run your 2x VDSL lines as MLPPP, and if so what sort of performance did you get?

anatokidave:

This is a long post:

The DLM changes over the past few weeks have resulted in the speed of one of my lines decreasing from 52 Mbps to below 40 Mbps, while another line increased from 47 Mbps to 61Mbps. What's up with this? It seems it's a continuation of VDSL2 issues I have had over the last 18 months - (long) explanation follows.

I have 2 naked VDSL connections which run from the same exchange to the same premises in a rural town. When working 'normally', they sync at similar speeds (to within about 10% of each other).

The lines have similar physical/electrical characteristics (in terms of attenuation and noise figures). Periodically, one or other of the lines has either been unstable or delivered speeds which are substantially slower than the other. When a tech checks the line from the exchange end, it is reported as being OK and the problem is usually attributed to increased noise or possible issues with a lateral line.

However, the line then returns to its expected capacity and stability for a few months (without any explanation from Chorus) before the problem starts again.

Given that no faults are found with the line, or cpe equipment, what other issues could cause such a problem? Are there any questions I could ask the ISP to put to Chorus?

A more detailed background is as follows:

I have had the same 2 naked lines for 6 years. Over that time, the service has evolved from 2 DSL lines giving about 4Mbps each, thru ADSL2, to VDSL2 (which now provides up to 61 Mbps on one of the lines).

The physical set-up is straightforward.From the Demarc, I have 2 shielded CAT6 cables which run for about 15m into 2 x CAT6 jacks, and from there over 2m of flat cable (RJ45 to RJ11) into the modems. The modems are a Draytek DV-130 for Line 1 and an older Draytek 2750 for Line 2.

The modems are in bridge mode, and they are connected with a metre of shielded cable to an RB1100 AHx2. The lines are configured for fail-over.

I did have filters on each of the lines, but in an effort to eliminate problem sources, I took them out (the lines are naked anyway and were installed specifically only to provide a broadband connection).

August 2016:Both lines were stable until Aug 2016, when Line 1 starting dropping periodically. At this time, the ISP reported it could not see Line 1 from its end, even though it was passing traffic. From my end, I could not trace-route across this line back to the ISP. Line 1 eventually dropped altogether, and only came back online after a Chorus tech had unplugged the port at the exchange to do some testing, found nothing wrong with the line, and plugged the line back into the port. In other words, Line 1 resumed working OK again after being plugged back in to the port with no other changes made.

Oct/Nov 2016After August, things worked well (and stable) for another 2 months, when the line 1 speed dropped from 52 Mbps to 15 Mbps.

ISP then reports the following:Line 1 sync dropped from 52 mpbs down to 15 mpbs.

But the status of the line showing stable , which is odd. ISP asks Chorus to look at this line.

Chorus claims there is nothing wrong with the existing line, they claim it might looks like it is coming from our end.

After further issues, more testing occurs. Chorus analyzer on 24hrs show no apparent problems. Assure suspect slowing down as more b/band customers connected to cable nvf... "

ISP replies to Chorus that this is not possible , because the Line 2 connection has a much higher download rate than the problematic line. ISP states it will ask Chorus to change the line or the port to restore the existing service back to correct speed.

I noted the following in an email to the ISP:Interestingly, when I was upgrading the firmware on the modem that supplies line 2, all the traffic ran across line 1 (the mal-functioning line). I noted the download speed of line 1 peaking above 30Mbps. This is somewhat higher then the 23 Mbps the stats tell me it can attain.

I'm wondering if there is a configuration issue somewhere at the exchange?

Chorus looks at the line again.

Analysis of Line 1 checks out OK physically and electrically (no problems found between exchange and our modem). Soon afterwards speed returns to 52Mbps rate 'spontaneously'. though tech thinks a change was made by Assure somewhere.

June 2017Both lines are stable over the period between Nov 2016 and May 2017. In June 2017 line 1 starts dropping a few times each day. I also note its peak speeds seem to fall off. This is opposite to what I would have expected given the DLM changes occurring at this time.

I look at the stats from the modem for line 1. It tells the line is syncing at about 33Mbps.I upgrade the firmware on the DV130 to the latest version. The speed stats after the firmware upgrade don't change much. They are as follows:

I log another fault with the ISP.Again, Chorus confirm no issues with the line between the exchange and the modem. Chorus tech states he adjusted the profile slightly in an effort to get more speed from the line.

ISP sends the following email:Chorus have marked the fault as 'Completed', however we have just updated it asking for more information as one of your connections has a sync rate of 61.1Mbps down and 8.9Mbps up, while the one they just changed the profile on is syncing at 46.3Mbps down and 12.9Mbps up.

Where to from here?Since Feb 2016, Line 1 sync has reduced from 52 Mbps to 46 Mbps, while line 2 has increased from 47 Mbps to 61 Mbps.Given the DLM changes and Line 2's current sync rate, I would expect Line 1 to sync at a higher rate (mid to high 60's). This is especially so since it has better electrical characteristics.

In the 24hr period after the latest changes, Line 1 dropped its link 8 times, Line 2 has not dropped its link for ages ...

So, given the above, what additional questions or areas of investigation should I try in order to get Line 1 back up to spec and stabilised?

@beaglenz did you need to quote the whole post to ask an unrelated question

@anatokidave the new upgraded DLM seems to do some funny things compared to what used to happen, and some people have lost speed on their lines but the vast majority have gained upload and download speed. i cant explain whats happening on your line, wiser heads, like hio77 might be able to offer something

Ive been getting a lot of 4 am internet breaking because of DLM recently. Speeds all over the place. Just wish I could easily get the modem stats without having to go plug directly into it so I could see how it was going.

edit: actually been getting the best upload speeds ever since the neighbors moved out of their place and its empty now. 30/10 which is a very welcome change. Still 18ms ping to sparks server tho.

@beaglenz: Yes, I ran both lines as MLPPP for about 2 years or so. While I appreciated the extra bandwidth, it needed lots of attention to keep it going, After changing ISP, we had daily issues and found it took too much effort to keep it going. Have been running as two independent lines since July 2015 and have split traffic over each line. However, if one line drops, all traffic fails over to the other line. Much better for everyone all round.

@hio77: both lines are on 8B profile (is this what you mean by Bandplan?)

The most recent stats for line 1 are in the main post (made last week on 16 July) - I reproduce it in full at the end of this post. I cannot get current stats as I do not have remote access to the modems and they are > 500km from me at present.

The line state report does not show any errors. But given my experience in Nov 2016, I'm not sure how much I trust the reporting. (Is the reported info obtained purely from the modem end of the link, or is it obtained from the exchange equipment, or from a combination of both?)

Would a link analysis from the Chorus end help? (I can probably arrange this)